Thermostatic controller.



V. HHVIMER, JII.

THEHMOSTATIC CONTROLLER. v

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 25, I9I3.

1,174,149, y Patented Mar. 7,1916.

THE COLUMBI PLArjcIaRAPI-l co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

s nr arios..

VITALIS .I-IIIVIMER, JR., OF BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO THE BURCHELLJOHNSTON CORPORATION, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

THEnMosTATIo CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

Application filed March 25, 1913. Serial No. 756,656.

a citizen of the United States, residing at' Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in-Thermostatic Controllers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to thermostatic controllers ork that class of apparatus operated bv temperature changes for operating or Otherwise controlling alarm systems, sprinkler systems or any other systems.

. More particularly, this invention relates to that class of thermostatic controller which operates by the volumetric changes of an inclosed fluid, for example, atmospheric air, whose expansion and contraction are the direct results of heat applied to or detracted from the body of air.

The general `objects ofthe presenty invention are to adord a more durable, permanent', eflicient, compact, simple and cheap thermostatic controller than those. heretofore known.

A vspecific object hereof is to afford a sensitive and durable thermostatic yconv troller of the. type wherein operation 1s causedl Vby relatively abrupt temperature `changes rather than by the actual existing temperature orby any relativelyy gradual vchanges therein.

By these expressions it will be understood that usually such a thermostatic controller is to be self-adjustable so as to avoid operation upon ordinary climatic changes or ordinaryitemperature adjustments within a building, whereas for a sudden temperature change, such as vthe breaking out of a conflagration,the controller will operate to give an alarm, open a water supply or perform other operations.

Other .and more specific objects will be illustrated in the hereinafter following de` embodiment of the present invention. i

' In the laccompanying drawings forming a part hereof,vF1gure 1 1s a sectiononpthe plane 1-1 of Fig. 2 of a thermostatic controller embodying the Vpresent invention. For convenience, the. apparatus may be considered as attached to the ceiling of a room, so that the figure is a vertical central section. Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe device .shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3' is a view similarv to Fig. 1 of a modication involving a normally closed, instead of open, electric circuit.

in order to inclose arbody of air an air chamber is provided in an apparatus of this kind. This is in effect a Huid-expansion 'chamber since the operation of the device is due to volumetric expansion or contraction of the Huid in the chamber. In connection therewith is provided some suitable control device operated by volumetric changes of Vthe iuid due to temperature changes outside the chamber, and this device may, for con- Y venience, be illustrated as taking the form of an electric contact device, which affords delicate and easily regulated control, although mechanical and other forms of control device could obviously be used. Apparatuses of this genera-l nature have been already known and it has already been suggested to provide a restricted air escape permitting air to flow to and fro from or into the chamber for equalizing the interior and exterior pressures due to gradual volumetric changes.

ln the present invention vthere is provided in connection with the air chamber a novelk form of vent for equalizing gradual volumer or pressurey changes, the same simply and cheaply constructed of merely two pieces,

Y namely, -a hollowstein Vremovably attached able and replaceable, while the adjustment permits regulation of liowrestriction and 'any clogging vof the apparatus is confined entirely to the porous material or cotton, which, upon becoming clogged with impuri-v ties, may be at will replaced by a fresh supply. The device is in the nature of an aijr valve.

Referring to the drawings the substantial or frame parts of the apparatus may comprise a pair of rigid frame plates, 6 below and 7 above. These plates together form a housing providing interior spaces, and they will preferably be horizontally arranged, .one of them having upwardly extending lugs 8 by which the apparatus may be re-y movably attachedv to a ceiling: The opposed housing plates forma cona rubber bushing The contact screw is venient mode of mounting a movable diaphragm 9, which is shown hermetically confined between the plates by means of an annular tongue 10 iipon the upper pla te engaging with a grooved rib 11 upon the under plate, the diaphragm clamped between them under tension. lt will be understood that the diaphragm is to be moved by eX- pansion or contraction, as hereinafter recited, and is to afford electrical contact as a means of controlling a signal bell or other apparatus. To lirmly secure together the housing plates und 7 a series of bolts 13 may be employed, extending through one and engaged in the other. The two frame plates are recessed opposite the diaphragm and, in effect, the upper plate is ay means for clamping the diaphragm hermetically against the lower plate. lt will be seen that the diaphragm divides the interior into tvvo spaces, with one of `which, namely the lower, is connected an air expansion chamber 15, this being shown as a thin-Walled spherical shell having a screw-threaded connecting nipple 16 by which it may be removably and hermetically engaged with the loiver frame plate 6, so as to effect communication between the air chamber 15 and the space adjacent the diaphragm. Expansion of air in the air chamber tends to lift the diaphragm. rEhe upper housinfr plate 7 is shown formed with unrestricted apertures 1S of considerable size, these being covered with dust excluding fabric or lilter 19, which permits free communication With the outer atmosphere. thus have a structure in Which the diaphragm 9 is held so as to ailgord an air pressure space or diaphragm chamber 20 below it communicating with the air chamber 15 and an air space or protective recess 2l above it, the latter having free communication With the outer atmosphere through the dust excluding fabric pieces 19.

Secured near the middle of the diaphragm is a Contact button 23 protecting the thin metal of the diaphragm from injury. Opposed to the contact button on the diaphragm is a fixed contact or screw 24 adapted to cooperate with the contact button. In the first modification of Figs. 1 and 2, the contacts are normally slightly separated and come into contact with air expansion. Vhen a normally closed circuit is desired, the position of the parts may be reversed, as in the Fig. 3 modification, so that, by maintaining the contacts normally touching, an increased air pressure will effect a separation, thus breaking the circuit. ln either case the contact screw 2li may be considered a control device by which the operation of a Signal or other apparatus is controlled through the diaphragm movements. In the first instance the Contact screv7 24 is mounted in the upper housing plate 7 by means of adjustable toward and from the contact button, and, when adjusted, is secured permanently in place by means of a loch nut Q6. Conducting Wires 2'? from the contact screw 25 and 28 from av grounded lug or terminal 29 extend to a suitable source of current and to the bell or other apparatus to be controlled, thus completing the circuit, which is iade and broken only by the movements of the diaphragm 9.

The adjustable air escape device or valve hereof is indicated generally at 32 and is relatively exaggerated to more clearly show its structure. rThe device is not only adjustable as to the extent of air restriction, but is bodily removable and replaceable, as explained. The device comprises a screwthreaded hollow stem 33 havinga liberal and non-restrictive passage from end to end, but tapered at its outer extremity to a small opening 34, giving a slight amount of restriction at the eXtreme end. Surrounding the threaded stem 33 is the screw cap 35 which not only protects the delicate end of the stem, but serves as a means of adjustably compressing the porous material 36, such as cotton, between the narrowed eX- tremity 3ft of the stem and the perforated outer end of the cap. The adjustment of the compression cap packs or loosens the cotton, thus controlling the resistance to air flow. The entire device may be carefully made and adjusted in the laboratory, so that the user may discard an inoperative escape device and substitute a properly adjusted one.

The thermostatic controller shown in the drawings is a complete device in itself, requiring only electric circuits and source of current for its operation. In the first form a. separate circuit for each instrument is requisite. For the second form several instruments maj7 be placed in the same circuit. The instruments Will be suitably distributed around the premises, preferably at the ceiling of various rooms, Where sudden volumes of overheated air would accumulate. In any case the circuits would be so arranged that the operation of an alarm would indicate the location of a conflagration. By these means a fire is detected at the outset as soon as the first sudden temperature rise occurs, this expanding the air in the thin-Walled chamber 15 and thus moving the diaphragm and operating the control device or contact 24:. In case of need of repair, replacement or inspection, it will be seen that all the parts are easilv removable and detachable and replaceable. rThe air chamber 15 is a delicate member capable of injury from blows, and its replaceability is a valuable feature. The frame plates carry all the other parts of the apparatus eompactly `and securely, and they in turnafiford the means` ofsecuring Atoj the lil() ceiling, thus giving a very advantageous practical construction. The openings 18 in the upper frame plate or the single opening shown in Fig. 3 facilitate the manufacture of the instrument and assemblage, besides permitting free air flow Subject to filtration by the fabric 19. VThe frame plate apertures constitute of it a sort of bridge or spider. In the Fig. 3 modification the contact screw 24- is fitted to the same frame plate as the expansion chamber 15, namely, the lower frame plate, and, therefore, an air-tight connection of soft rubber or the like is provided between the contact screw and the frame plate, preventing interference with the operation of the instrument by air leakage. f the air escape device 32 be entirely omitted, the instrument can be used for yoperating an alarm or the like at a designated predetermined temperature.

It will thus be seen that thermostatic controllers have been illustrated and described embodying the principles and attaining the objects and advantages before set forth and other advantages pertaining to the described structures will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Since many matters of arrangement, design, detail and other features may be variously modified without departing from the novel principles involved, no limitation to such features is intended excepting so far as set forth in the appended claims.

What is clamed is:

1. A thermostaticrcontroller including in combination, a frame, a diaphragm, an air expansion chamber, Va control device, arranged to cause the diaphragm to operate said device upon aireXpansion incsaid chamber, and an adjustable air-escape devicegiv ing restricted air passage between chamber and atmosphere, consisting of a hollow stem attachable to the frame and a screw cap adjustable to regulate air iiow, and a body of compressible porous material between stem and cap.

2. A thermostatic controller including in combination, a rigid flat solid frame plate 6 having a low annular flange 11, a rigid base plate behind said frame plate and having a flange corresponding to said first flange for holding a diaphragm between the plates, said base plate constructed with a large aperture covered with an air filtering material which opposes no effective resistance to air passage, means detachably connecting said plates together with va diaphragm held between them, a flexible diaphragm held between said plates by said anges and forming a shallow diaphragm chamber'with said frame plate, a control contact Ydevice coperating with said diaphragm, a thin walled hollow shell con nected tightly to said frame plate and forming an expansion chamber communicating with said diaphragm chamber, said shell having an interior volume substantially larger than the volume of said shallow diaphragm chamber, and one of said plates having rigid rearwardly extending feet for rigidly mounting the entire contrivance against a supporting wall in such manner as to leave a secondary protecting chamber between the base plate and the wall.

VITALIS HIMMER, JR.

Witnesses:

JOHN C. BUTTON, ELEANOR M. BURNS.

Copies 'of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

